Head to Head

Somali journalists continue to face arbitrary arrests, physical attacks and censorship.

A recent Amnesty International report says harassment and intimidation of journalists are so deeply entrenched, it makes Somalia one of the most dangerous places to report from.

Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow has more.

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The coronavirus pandemic has caused tens of thousands of Afghans to cross the border from Iran, the region's worst hit country.

But some have also been trying to go in the other direction, looking for work.

Now, Afghanistan is accusing Iranian border forces of drowning dozens of Afghan migrants, to stop them from crossing over.

It is thought at least 38 people died. Iran has denied the allegations.

Al Jazeera's Alexi O'Brien has more.

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Police in Malaysia have detained more than 700 refugees and migrant workers.

They live in areas where COVID-19 cases surged last month, triggering accusations that foreigners are spreading the virus.

Rights groups say they could be held for months in dangerously cramped conditions, and that detaining the migrants in close quarters will only increase the virus.

Phil Robertson is the Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch.

He says Malaysian authorities are risking the health of the people they have arrested.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appeared in public for the first time in 20 days, according to state media, ending rumours about his health.

Nearly eight million people in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, are marking the fasting month of Ramadan under a lockdown imposed to try and curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

But with the country facing an economic crisis as well, stocking up for the month has been hard for many - especially for families who rely on a day-to-day income.

Al Jazeera's Hiba Morgan reports from Khartoum.

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Tens of millions of people in China were confined to their homes during its strict coronavirus lockdown.

Now, although restrictions have been eased, many are afraid of venturing outside even for basic supplies.

But thanks to China's vast home delivery network, drivers and logistics companies are helping the economy tick over while people stay indoors.

Al Jazeera's Katrina Yu reports from Beijing, China.

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One of the most well-known figures of Indigenous Berber music has died.

Born Hamid Cheriet in 1949 in Ath Yenni, a Berber-speaking region in the central Atlas Mountains of Algeria, his musical prowess began to be recognised by his colleagues in a gas and oil field where he worked.

The Algerian musician, known by his stage name Idir, used his songs to address social and political injustices. He was 70 years old when he died.

Al Jazeera’s Laura Burdon-Manley takes a look at his life and career.

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As government lockdowns focus on limiting the spread of the coronavirus, scientists around the world are working on treating and protecting us.

They have their work cut out. Vaccine and drug development is laborious, full of experimentation and repeated testing. Knowing how the virus works is key.

But what other challenges do they face? And how long will it take before we can defeat this virus with a pill or an injection?

Start Here explains.

Much of the coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic treats the World Health Organization (WHO) as an authoritative, impartial source of information. But should it?

From the advent of COVID-19, the WHO's press conferences have been a fixture in global news coverage. They serve as a touchstone for journalists and, given that the WHO has 194 member states, the pressers have become a primary source of information for global context.

"The WHO does shape information globally quite significantly," says Lawrence Gostin, a professor in global health law at Georgetown University who has worked closely with the WHO in the past, "because it is a trusted and objective science adviser to the world".

However, the organisation's objectivity has been called into question. It started in early January when China media analysts started observing a similarity between what the WHO was saying and official statements coming out of China. For example, on January 14, the WHO tweeted: "Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus".

That same day, the Wuhan Health Commission's public bulletin declared, "We have not found proof for human-to-human transmission." The question is, why would the WHO repeat - almost verbatim - the claims made by China when news outlets, in Hong Kong and elsewhere, were already comparing the novel coronavirus to SARS and saying that it could very well be transferred from person to person? The answer comes down to access. China only granted the WHO access to Wuhan in February 2020, nearly three months after the first case was detected.

"WHO's reporting, by virtue of its governance, is highly dependent on every member country's ability, honesty and willingness to share data and issue notifications of epidemics," says Osman Dar, director of the Global Health Programme at Chatham House. "Its verification systems can only be as good as the access their member states provide."

Which is the crux of the issue. Member states are not beholden to the WHO but rather the WHO is beholden to them. Not only is the organisation's access, in large part, determined by its member states, but they also make up most of the WHO's funding.

On April 15, US President Donald Trump threatened to halt his country's funding to the WHO, accusing the organisation of being China-centric. The president's critics say the threat was an attempt to deflect criticism of Trump's own mishandling of this crisis; however, his actions highlight a key vulnerability in the WHO.

The US is, by far, the organisation's biggest funder and if Washington follows through with Trump's threat, then that would severely hinder its operational capacity. Which begs the question - how can the WHO speak truth to power when those powers largely control its access and its funding?

"It's not totally neutral. If you're seeing something coming from the WHO, it's something that its member states wanted to be released, it is something that a member state consented to be released," says Stephen Buranyi, a journalist at The Guardian newspaper, "to see the full picture, you have to go beyond what states are telling it."

Produced by:

Nicholas Muirhead

Contributors:

Lawrence Gostin - Director, O'Neill Institute, Georgetown University

Osman Dar - Global Health Programme, Chatham House

Stephen Buranyi - Journalist, The Guardian

Rana Mitter - Director, China Centre, Oxford University

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India has dropped two places on the World Press Freedom Index, now ranking at 142 out of 180 countries.

Reporters Without Borders says a communications blackout in Indian-administered Kashmir, which made it increasingly difficult for journalists to report on what is happening in the region, played a significant role in that shift.

Their report calls the area a "vast open prison".

Yet, India's government maintains there is nothing short of absolute media freedom.

Al Jazeera’s Elizabeth Puranam reports from New Delhi.

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